Joseph saxton



JOSEPH SAXTON, OF VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

SEAL-PRESS.

To all lwhom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH SAXTON, of the city of Washington, in theDistrict of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Presses for Sealing and Securing Letters, Papers, or other SimilarWatters, of which the following is a, full, clear, and exa-ctdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, makingpart of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a perspectiveview of my improved sealing press,with its parts in the position theyhave just before forming a seal. Fig. 2, represents a verticallongitudinal section through the joint by which the arm carrying thestamp is properly adjusted, and F ig. 3 shows a vertical section throughthe guard.

All sealing presses previous to myinvention, have had for their object,a strong and somewhat sustained pressure, for the purpose of imprintinga device upon a plastic material, such as sealing-wax, or else upon apaper placed over a wafer. for a sharp impression, a very considerableforce and a comparatively slow motion, involving the necessity of greatstrength in the parts of the press, together with a very niceconstruction, especially for seals of great size.

On the other hand the object of my improved press is, to form a sealaccording to my improved process of sealing, for which I have appliedfor a patent, which process consists, essentially in placing a fusiblemetal or alloy, in the fluidstate, upon the place of the seal, and by asharp and quick blow, causing the said metal or alloy to penetrate theparts to be secured, while the device is imprinted and the metalsolidified, simultaneously.

For carrying out this process, I have invented a press which does notneed the great solidity required in the presses used in the ordinarymode of sealing and which I have arranged so as to be capable of rapidmotion while at the same time I am enabled to provide a very simple andeflicient means of adjustment for bringing the face of the stamp or dieinto a proper position, which could not be used when great force wasrequired. My press also allows ample room for conveniently putting' thefused metal upon the article to be sealed, when in its place upon thepress, as well as space for the interval between the seal and the edgeof the paper These require or other matter to which it is to beattached. As no great amount of force is required I am enabled to `makemy press with a much lighter base than that required in ordinary pressesand consequently this base may very advantageously be made the top of areceptacle for inclosing a drawer for containing the sealing material, alamp formelting it, a basin in which to melt it, a spoon or ladle formeasuring it out in proper quantitym together with other means and`appliances which may be deemed necessary in carrying out the process.Besides these peculiarities which distinguish mysealing press from allothers heretofore knownI have also invented certain contrivancesforfacilitating the process of sealing with fused metals which willhereinafter be described.

I shall now proceed todescribe in detail the mode of construction of myimproved press. The base-LAQ may be made of any suitable material, suchas well seasonedV wood, and this may be made the top or' a receptaclefor inclosing a drawer containing the various articles required, asabove mentioned. Upon this base is firmly secured a standard (Bc)terminating at its top in a hinge or joint (5,) upon which a` lever((3,) turns freely in a vertical direction. The other end of this leveris formed into a spherical enlargement or ball (c',) to which the arm(D,) carrying the stamp or die (S,) is attached, so as to becapable ofadjustment, in the following manner. The ball is provided with avertical perforation through which passes a screw (E) entering t-heupper end of the arm (1),) carrying the die (S,). This screw should beso much smaller in diameter than the perforation that the arm may beturned 'in any direction re.-

quired, without coming in contact with the `sides of the hole. Thengreat ranges of motion are needed the hole may be made conical above andbelow. The object of this adjustment is, to bring the die horizontallyupon the surface of' the matter to be sealed, as this latter varies inthickness.

The upper end of the arm is made cup shaped so as to adapt itself to theball on the end of the lever. Above this ball is a cup shaped washer(F,) with a less radius of curvature than that of the ball, so that thescrew (E) passing through it and into the arm, h'olds the latter againstthe ball, in any required position,.by the elasticity of the washer.This washer may conveniently be made by striking it up from a plate ofbrass.

The arm (D) holds the die (37,) which may be screwed into it, orattached in any other proper manner.

In order to hold the letter or papers during the act of sealing, clampsprings (R, R,) may be attached to the base by screws or pins, on eachside of the standard, the letter, being pushed under these springs, willbe held firmly in the proper position. In sealing with fused metal ifthere is any eX- cess of metal above that required for the seal, it isdriven outward in all directions, and in order to retain this excess Imake use of a guard (II) having a flat base where it is intended to bearupon the letter or matter to be sealed. If the internal surface of thisguard came down perpendicularly upon the plane of the paper, the metaldriven against it might be so forcibly checked, that it would adhere to,or cause a stain upon, the paper. To avoid this difficulty, I make theinner surface of such a form, that its vertical section is concavetoward the seal, coming down to the paper so as to form an inclinedplane of small angle, directedtoward the seal, as is more particularlyshown in Fig. 3. By this contrivance, the metal driverimoff from theseal is carried up the inclined plane and becomes solidified in theconcavity of the guard. In order to facilitate the removal of thismetal, the part of the base of the guard which projects inward, may bemade a separate piece (It) spring into its place. This can readily betaken out and the solidified metal, which does not adhere, can then beremoved. The guard also aids in holding and securing the matter to besealed and therefore may be used without the clamp springs. Although Ihave shown this guard as not attached to the press, it may in many casesbe deemed advisable to connect it to the base by an arm, hinged orjointed so that it may at once fall into its proper place.

Having 'thus explained the construction of my press, its mode ofoperation can readily be understood. The letter (L) or other matter tobev sealed being placed upon the base, and if necessary, held by theclamp springs, the place of the seal is brought friction of the washer.The die being thus adjusted if necessary-the lever is to be thrown back,the guard put in its place and the fused metal deposited in suflicientquantity upon the part to be sealed. The lever is then seized by thehand, between the hinge and the ball and is rapidly brought down so asto throw the die upon the metal, which is made, by the force of theblow, to penetrate the parts to be secured, and is then solidified,bearing a clear and sharp impression of the die or stamp. In thisoperation the momentum of the die is constantly increasing up to theinstant when it comes in contact with the fluid metal which giving waybefore it absorbs the whole of the force, sov that there is no reboundand the contact thus made and continued even a short space of time-byreason of the rapid communication of heat through the metal-insures thesolidification of the whole mass of the seal. The length of the leverwhich enables me to give such a percussive action to form the seal, alsofurnishes a considerable distance between the place where the stampstrikes and the base of the standard-so that the seal may be placed at adistance from the edge of the paper, which in some cases may be a greatconvenience.

that I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. A sealing press operated by a lever to which the stamp is attached byan adjustable joint-the whole being adapted to the purpose of sealingwith fusible metal or alloy, substantially as above described.

Q. The guard for retaining the excess of metal driven off from the sealin the act of making the impression.

JOS. SAXTON.

Vit-nesses:

WVM. A. SAYTON, GEORGE C. SCHAEFER.

